The U.S. House of Representatives formally delivered the article of impeachment to the U.S. Senate at about 7 p.m. this evening. The Trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 8. I will reserve this space for opinion, as this matter develops.
The originating blog post was Jan. 13, 2021. Is is here.
UPDATE Jan. 26: Washington Post Editorial Board: “The Trump era’s predations are still emerging”
Commentary on Jan 25: Just Above Sunset “The Formalities” here.
PRENOTE: Tomorrow, Monday Jan 25 is the International Day of Education Symposium, presented by UNESCO. Details here (scroll down to first item). I’m registered.
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Most every day I take an “abstract-random” drive, just to get out of the house for a bit. It’s my Covid-19 daily therapy. It works.
Yesterday, my spur-of-the moment drive was back to 27th at E. Lake St. in Minneapolis to see my place, where the Gandhi Mahal restaurant used to be. Gandhi Mahal was one of the many victims after George Floyd’s murder Memorial Day 2020.
Here’s yesterday’s photo. Gandhi Mahal, indeed the entire block on which it stood, is still a vacant hole in the ground.
site of Gandhi Mahal, Jan 23, 2021, about 3 p.m.
Today’s Minneapolis Sunday StarTribune had an intriguing headline on the bottom of page 1: “RIOT AID NOWHERE TO BE SEEN” about the aftermath of Memorial Day week in Minneapolis. I read on to see if any mention was made of Gandhi Mahal and its owner, my friend, Ruhel Islam. There was specific reference near the end of the article on page A10:
“Ruhel Islam said he is forking out $80,000 to clear away the site of his destroyed restaurant, Gandhi Mahal. He said city officials have not offered to reimburse him any of those funds.
“Just make it easy for us,” Islam say. “Don’t make so much process. We’re dealing with so many things in our lives right now.”
[Steve] Poor [Minneapolis director of development services]. said he is not sure if any of those owners will receive assistance since they hired their own contractors. He said city officials are still ironing out those details.
“We can’t just give people money,” Poor said, “It’s illegal.”
Personal opinion: all of these comments, by both Islam and Poor, make sense. This process isn’t, and cannot, and will not be, easy.
Eight months later, almost to the day, Gandhi Mahal is still a hole in the ground; its entire block a vacant lot. But it’s neighborhood, including Gandhi Mahal, is being resurrected.
Over the months I’ve heard most of the “yah, buts…”
But I’ll make some suggestions anyway:
I’ll be sending another $100 to Ruhel Islam, no strings, to assist as he rebuilds. I invite your participation. Send me a check or other non-cash method, in whatever amount, made/payable to Ruhel Islam, and I’ll get your letter, unopened, to him, two weeks from now. Send to Dick Bernard, PO Box 25384, Woodbury MN 55125. On the envelope put “RI” or similar in the lower left corner.
If you’re in the south Minneapolis area stop in at his interim location, “Curry in a Hurry” at the corner of 31st and Franklin Ave.
Or, alternatively, do something similar for someone else similarly affected in these last eight months.
I was back to that corner this morning, to take a few more photos. Resurrection is happening. Recovery is more than simply a soundbite. Find some way to get involved.
Ruhel and his many fellow victims will appreciate it. .
27th Ave at E. Lake St Minneapolis Jan. 24, 2021. Gandhi Mahal would have been at the near center left between the traffic light and the snow-covered pile of dirt. Every building on that side of the street has now been demolished and removed.
Gandhi Mahal as it was Nov. 13, 2016. This photo was taken in the meeting room area. The restaurant was a popular community gathering place.
Jan. 24, 2021: New building under construction two blocks north of Gandhi Mahal near the now reopened Aldi’s.
Ruhel Islam with my friend and peace and justice advocate Lynn Elling Dec. 2, 2015. Lynn was nearing the end of his life, and Ruhel and singer Larry Long and I went down to the Nursing Home where Lynn was then resident. Ruhel brought lunch from Gandhi Mahal. Lynn died in February, 2016, and Ruhel was at the Memorial Service in May.
POSTNOTE: So, who did the mayhem in Minneapolis-St. Paul and other places, like Portland and Kenosha and on and on? There were protests, but that is different than mayhem – burning buildings, breaking windows and on and on. So, re the local versions of the U.S. Capitol assault of Jan. 6, 2021.
My opinion: Other than those already arrested and identified by media, I have no idea, of the specifics, but you can believe that the culprits will be brought to justice, though it will be more months and perhaps even longer.
The violence was perfect for ThePastMan, who went on the “law and order” offensive – until the U.S. Capitol disaster occurred.
Be patient.
Last night we watched the strangely addictive 48-hours – which specializes in real-life whodunnits sometimes many years old.
Last nights laid out a 30 year old murder in a small town in Alabama. It was a true cold case which happened in the days before things like DNA. In this case, it was a lady who had first-hand knowledge of what happened (but was not involved in the case itself), who finally came forward and told a story nobody had heard earlier. Perhaps it can be watched at the programs website. The town was Ozark Alabama. The key word is Beasley.
Those involved in the Capitol mayhem are learning quickly the possible consequences. Minneapolis was the pioneer, and the element of surprise has slowed down justice. Just wait.
COMMENTS (More at end of post):
from Rebecca: Dick: Thanks for writing about my neighborhood and our mutual friend Ruhel Islam. I have not yet ordered from Curry in a Hurry, but I will. And make a donation online.Scott and I love Ruhel, supported him through his expansion 2 blocks from our house, the disaster that destroyed his place and Migizi’s just as they were creating an every-expanding presence of hope and unity in Longfellow at 27th and E. Lake St. We hope that he can stay in this area. He is a really hard-working, spiritual activist and people-person. I guess that he isn’t a saint or a perfect man, no one is, but many of us, like you and me, call him brother.
from Maria: Thank you Dick for your today’s reflections on ‘resurrection’ and photos. I have vivid and fond memories of our meetings with various peace and justice groups at the Gandhi Mahal, especially with members of the Advocates for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. I still contribute to them.
from Jeff: interesting that two more guilty pleas for the police precinct arson shows both right wing and left wing radicals involved.
PRENOTE: Monday Jan 25 is the International Day of Education Symposium, presented by UNESCO. Details here (scroll down to first item). I’m registered.
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Call to Action: The last phrase of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, Nov. 18, 1863, says it all: “…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
The supreme authority of this Democracy, our Republic, the United States of America, is articulated in the very first sentence of the Constitution of the U.S., “We, the people….”
We, the people, own the success, or the failure, of this complex system called the United States, and the planet of which we are only a small but very significant part. This is truer now than it has ever been. We will determine what we are, and what we will be.
What the future will be now is in the hands of my children’s generation (ages 40s and 50s). There are big risks…and opportunities…in their near and more distant future. We elders can advise them; but they will decide their fate, and that of their children.
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We have now seen the beginning of the 2021 New Year and the change in government in a way few of us have likely ever seen. 2021 reminds me of the late 1960s.
Monday, Jan. 25, basically begins the New Year of our U.S. government. Of course, there have been actions of that government in the last few days, but for reasons we all had an opportunity to observe in real time, we are off to a particularly ragged start with multiple and very serious issues facing us.
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So, where do you stand as this New Year begins? And how do you make sure your voice is heard by those who make decisions as your representative at the local, state and national level?
Do you know who has been elected to represent you at all levels, from local to national? And do you know how to effectively reach them, all of them? If you were in their shoes, how much would they appreciate your way of communication with them?
Your “circles” are important too…the people you know, and who know you.
Write down their names and how to connect with them…and connect, if nothing more than a brief note to begin. They will notice.
Sure, you’re only one, but you are one.
Identify a hero, somebody who you think has made a positive difference. Here are a few Gandhi quotations to start with.
You can’t impact on the system by yelling at the television; or saying to yourself that your opinion doesn’t matter anyway; or that those who surround you in various ways – family, etc. – are fools; or that your lawmaker must listen only to your opinion; or that the winner takes all, and the loser has no voice.
President Biden’s mantra “build back better” is not an idle phrase.
You..and me…and everyone…are a voice of one. That is what a democracy is. You are the future.
POSTNOTE: Just Above Sunset: Thinly Veiled Innuendo; George Conway in today”s Washington Post.
COMMENTS:
from Fred: A friend sent a concise Washington Post review of our ex-prez.
The first event of Inauguration Day happened at about 5:30 p.m., a memorial to the now-400,000 Covid-19 deaths since last January. There were 400 lights, each signifiying one-thousand deaths. It was brief and very impressive. A nurse sang “Amazing Grace” – her singing has gone viral. Here’s tonight on YouTube. Note the second song at the same space, sung at the same event.
TV Screen Shot Jan. 19, 2021
3:30 a.m. Jan. 20: This initial comment on soon-president Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris will be very brief.
They are the perfect team to lead this country at a time of incredible crisis in many areas. There’s will be an extremely difficult job. All presidents have extremely difficult jobs – impossible to please everyone – but Jan. 20, 2021, is near the top of any list I can imagine, including WWII. But that’s a conversation for later.
I have liked Joe Biden since the beginning. His strengths are just exactly what our country needs. I’ve mentioned them before: he’ll change the tone of our country; he has far more relevant experience than most anyone who’s ever run for the office, local office, U.S. Senate, Vice-President.
His life experience has amplified his empathy for others.
His mantra will be, I think, helping the United States of America, which includes all states and all of us.
I don’t know as much about Kamala Harris, but the fact that Mr. Biden chose her has great meaning; and she is the first woman, to have ever held the office and for this and many other reasons everyone knows will bring a new and fresh perspective to governing this country.
The critical link, now, will be every single one of us. To continue to be for, and not against. As the sidewalk sign I saw at the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic said so well on April 8, 2020: “Smile. We will get through this Together!”
Forward.
At entrance to Carver Park walking trail, Woodbury MN April 8, 2020.
POSTNOTE: Yesterday, I took the hour and 50 minutes to watch, on-line, the 2011 film “The Wave”, about a high school teacher who did an experiment with autocracy. The film is German, subtitled, and is very powerful and appropriate, especially for today’s unrest in the U.S. I rented it through Amazon for $3.99. I think it is available at other places as well. Tomorrow night a group of us will do an on-line conversation about it. If you are interested, check the website for Global Solutions MN, and scroll down to Third Thursday films. This is a continuing program and you are invited to participate from wherever you live.
POSTNOTE 2: One of the headlines in The Washington Post columns this morning says “Joe Biden’s fundamental challenge is to root out the domestic insurgency” by David Ignatius. I agree, but only to the extent that the task really falls to each and every one of we citizens where we live. We know these people in our own environments.
COMMENTS (more at end of post):
From Mary K: Smile, we will get through this. God Bless America I will look for “The Wave”. Ciao.
from Fred: Nicely stated. I agree with your depiction of Joe Biden and, as the shadow from the last four years lifts, look hopefully to the future.
from Lydia: [See] link to April 1961 Speech by JFK on the press (you can read or listen to it). I immediately thought you’d find it of interest/inspiration.
from CNN’s “Reliable Sources” for Jan. 17, 2021: Remember how presidents used to speak?
With Biden about to take over, it’s a good day to read or re-read inaugural speeches, and other compelling addresses by past presidents. I re-read John F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech to newspaper publishers, which contains a lot of wisdom about democracy, national security, and the power of the press. Kennedy spoke of “our obligation” — both his and the news media’s — “to inform and alert the American people, to make certain that they possess all the facts that they need, and understand them as well — the perils, the prospects, the purposes of our program and the choices that we face.” Read or listen to the speech here…
Screen Shots: Jan 20, 2020, White House, Bidens
Vice-President Kamala Harris and her husband. about to enter the Vice-Presidents office, Jan. 20, 2021
White House, Jan. 20, 2021
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day, the Third Monday in January.
MLK was born Jan. 15, 1929 and died by assassination Apr. 4, 1968, at the age of 39.
I remember where I was when I heard of his death. I would guess you do, too.
This is a good day to reintroduce six lectures on racism given by six white professors from St. Thomas University, St. Paul, in February and March, 2020. I think they are still accessible here. Scroll down to “Featured Resources, Becoming Human….” for the brief descriptor and viewing information.
I saw the first three presentations in person In February at the Basilica of St. Mary. The remaining three were the first cancellations due to Covid-19, but the professors elected to continue them on-line.
Have a great day.
NOTE: While at the Global Solutions website note some other events upcoming in the near future, and visit there once in awhile.
COMMENTS (more at end of post):
from Gail: Thanks, Dick. I just listened to MLK’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech, and also the one he gave in Memphis the day he was assassinated. “Democracy Now” airs them every year on MLK Day. We should remember that his “Beyond Vietnam” speech was given a year to the day before he was assassinated. I suspect that the date was selected to send a message that that’s what happens to prominent people who claim that “The United States is the biggest purveyor of violence in the world today.” I am quite sure that if he were alive, King would make the same claim.
from Kristin: I subscribe to the “Anti-Racism Newsletter” (here) and yesterday’s message included audio, transcript and other links to several MLK’s speeches. I recommend subscribing!
The Inauguration of President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris is Wednesday January 20. If you are interested, check here.
About noon today (Saturday) I took the short trip over to the Minnesota State Capitol, just to see what was happening in our state’s possible ‘war zone’ in the wake of The Capitol insurrection on the 6th of January.
The trip is a short one, albeit on slick winter roads, and near the Capitol on the wall of the Minnesota History Center I saw this sign. Nothing could be more appropriate for today.
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Indeed, every instant of our lives is history.
Over 20 years ago, in the first year of the then-Newseum in Rosslyn, VA, I saw the quotation, “news is the first rough draft of history“.
We – all of us – make history every instant of every day by what we do, or not. History is far more than the President or the favorite celebrity we love to love…or hate. History is US…every single one of us…all of the time.
To my left, today, as I took the above photo, down the street perhaps a half mile at the most, stands the Minnesota State Capitol. This day, the major streets into the Capitol area were blocked off, and supervised by an unknown number of law enforcement personnel. The morning paper said that people could walk in to the Capitol area. There were few of these this dreary day.
I turned to my left and took a photo. This was the scene from my History Center vantage point shortly after noon today.
Minnesota State Capitol about 1 p.m. Saturday Jan. 16,2021.
Where Rice crosses John Ireland Blvd was a single highway patrol vehicle, a military tactical vehicle, and ordinary wooden barriers. This was also true across the way at Cedar St., which is also the site of the National Guard facility; and likely the same at other access points around the Capitol area itself.
In the distance, by the Capitol steps area, one could see people who probably were security personnel, and that was about all. But no doubt this piece of real estate was covered.
Here’s what the Minneapolis Star Tribune had to say this evening about what was happening at the Capitol steps area about the time I was there. There may have been a few protestors there while I was.
What will transpire the next few days?
I don’t know. Nobody does.
There’s plenty of speculation, and loads of preparedness everywhere.
I’m going to go out on a long limb and predict that the next few days, everywhere, will essentially be non-events, at least in terms of crisis. Photos of empty streets will dominate. And that quiet will be a good thing. But that doesn’t mean that the problem of violent anarchists is over. I could as easily be wrong. Sure, there could be incidents. Try to keep them in their proper perspective. Don’t empower hate.
For the moment, the thugs, including the President, Guilani and Brooks, have had their awful fun. Several people lie dead; our government officials and we, too, are traumatized. But remember there were less than 10,000 Americans – a tiny fraction of the 330,000,000 of us – attacking and violating our national Capitol building. We need to keep this in mind. It was quiet in my neighborhood on the 6th, and likely in yours, too, and has been since. Peace outnumbers War by many times over. But this is no time to rest easy.
The soldiers from this point on have to be each and every one of us, refusing to be cowed into silence. Each and every one of us know people who are susceptible to, perhaps even supported, the violence we’ve seen on television. People who’ve bought the false stories.
We need to be witness to sanity, in all of the many peaceful ways available to us. We cannot stand by and tolerate the insanity we watched unfold. We cannot be silent, or depend on somebody else to be our voice. We need to be our own voice.
I saw this Gandhi quote in a book I’ve been reading, and it fits our history, now: “The only tyrant I accept in this world is the still voice within.”
It is time to begin the march towards sanity.
Previous related posts on Jan 6, 13 and 15, 2021.
POSTNOTE Jan. 17: I took another drive to state Capitol area today, essentially the same situation as yesterday. Lots of news in the Sunday Minneapolis Star Tribune. Here’s a particularly relevant and distressing article that appeared only in the print edition (click to enlarge): StarTribune front page Jan. 17 2021
Minnesota State Capitol steps about noon, Sunday Jan. 17. Appeared to be a rehearsal by security people. Telephoto from south end of the Capitol Mall near Veterans Service Building and the USS Ward Memorial.
Overnight Jan 18, 2021: Just Above Sunset, “Quite Dangerous People”.
COMMENTS (more at end of post):
from Jerry: Thanks for your blog, Dick. I read it saying “yes” a number of times. The old Japanese proverb “may you live in interesting times” is certainly true today. On Martin Luther King day we realize how far we still have to go to assure equality and justice for all.
from JoAnn: Right on!
from Barry: Thanks for the report Dick. For some of those folks I think they are a bit surprised that they are in trouble and may actually/hopefully face consequences. Trump however is as always delusional. Will he ever suffer a negative consequence?
from Brian: This is one of your best posts. I love the picture of the state capitol building. Thanks so much for sharing. And I agree with your spirit.
from Florence: Thanks, Dick. Good food for thought. Peace and joy this week and throughout 2021.
from Julianne: I read the [Star Tribune] article twice. Waterbury was indeed calling on the crowd in MN to move to the governor’s home to get him. She had asked for him to talk with her one on one. What the intent was to move to the governor’s mansion is unclear. Were they going to storm into his house and was the crowd deflected by the police? Not clear in the article what their intent was but the police removed the governor’s son to protect him, so it appears that the threat was real. What was the purpose of the threat? She says she is willing to die for her goal. What goal? Was it to keep the “Republican president” in place despite the results of the election? Was this a government takeover to prove – what? My family in Wisconsin feels threatened by living in a Republican dominated community in a Republican state. They are planning to hunker down even more than what the pandemic requires because the threat feels real to them. The multiracial daughter of one of her friends feels threatened anywhere in her community and even with her friends. Fear rages and anger is widespread and is growing within this country. The anger is diverse and the fear it generates is spreading. I am at a loss for words. Trump has fed on this anger and has become the focal point of the anger from many sides. He loves it. He owns it. He has become its leader. Our whole country is at a loss as to how to define it. But it is real. We are clearly divided into many different parts until the anger has become one anger. We all lose because of it and our country loses because of it. And the world looks on in shock, bewilderment, and sometimes cheers at our fallen country. I really don’t have words express my personal feelings of loss and of fear.
Overnight very early Jan. 19: Just Above Sunset nicely sets the stage for the next chapter of America:“Somehow Making History”. Regulars at this space know I’m a fan of the retiree in Hollywood who composes the column most days, I think was his hobby. I encourage folks to subscribe. The price is really right!
Kathy, out in Oregon writes last evening: Am so enjoying the break from last 4 years of over 11,000 tweets that were constantly broadcast daily on even NPR.
Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Jeff in Burnsville MN, raising a concern with his legislator about the timeline for Covid-19 vaccine. I am reprinting his letter, and the legislators response with Jeff’s permission. NOTE TO READERS. Constituent letters are aways effective. Best to write to your own representatives at whatever level: your state legislator, your congressperson, etc. These days, via e-mail is probably the best way to communicate.
Jeff’s letter to his State Senator and Representative Jan. 14:
I am writing this email to both my representatives together to ask why Minnesota is lagging in its distribution of its allocated Covid 19 vaccines. According to the NY Times as of January 13 only 32% of the allocation has been distributed. Michigan, North Dakota and South Dakota are all higher, I just saw the Governor of Kentucky say that his state’s 50%+ vaccination rate was not acceptable.
Initiating Post here.
For your thought, consideration and conversation
The day after the carnage at our nations Capitol Jan. 6, I was participating in a regular meeting of a group I’ve long been part. It was Zoom, of course, and there were ten or so of us.
In the gathering time, I asked my colleagues about the previous day in Washington D.C., to the effect: “We all know people who reflect the attitudes & opinions of those who invaded the Capitol yesterday. Does anyone know of someone in their acquaintance who would participate in such an act? Personally, I don’t.”
One member on the call responded almost immediately. She said she knew five – all people she knew well.
We didn’t have time to go into detail, and the regular meeting proceeded to conclusion. But the early interaction has stuck with me.
My colleague misinterpreted my question (more likely, I didn’t clearly ask it). Not unusual in any spur-of-the-moment conversation like ours had been.
The following morning I followed up with my colleague by e-mail: “I think I mis-phrased my question to you and the others. I was wondering how many people knew anyone who’d be the type who’d actually invade the capitol like the insurrectionists did on Wednesday. I said I didn’t know anyone; I think you mentioned several. Actually, if I went by your criteria, I’ve actually counted a couple of dozen people I know who are [strong Trump supporters] – they’re all people I know, mostly well – but I don’t think any of them would even think of invading even the local state capitol, or maybe not even demonstrate. But they are absolutely devoted to [the current President, for varying reasons].
Awful as Jan 6 and following events have been, and whatever similar happens going forward, the events should be “a shot across the bow” for all of us.
Every single one of us need to confront, in the many assorted – and appropriate and non-violent – ways, this primary and in many ways evil legacy of the soon to depart President. It won’t be easy, but we can’t sit it out. We all can make a difference.
Q-anon et al.
For context, the last weeks have caused me to reflect on two past events.
The first was a conversation with a woman about my kids age in the coffee shop I frequent. This was some months before the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, which was in Feb. 2018. She was concerned about child sex-trafficking, and how Super Bowls were super-spreader events for such exploitation of young people. It was a legitimate question, not connected to politics…I thought. [Postnote Jan 17. Much to my surprise this person was front page material in today’s Sunday Star Tribune. She’s apparently front and center “Alley Waterbury” is the name she goes by. There’s more, but enough for now.]
The second was an e-mail I received in 2019 from a woman my age, forwarding something from her son, my kids age, which speaks for itself. It is the only “QAnon” stuff I have ever directly received. Here is the two-page pdf (click to enlarge): Q-anon 2019. I had heard of Q-anon, but this was my first knowing brush with what has generically become Q-anon.
I checked out the book. I noted back to my friend that the book was published in 1991, at the end of 12 years of Republican presidencies of Reagan and George H.W. Bush. The Orion project mentioned was quite likely during the Eisenhower administration. “The deep state” was in the times Republicans were President of the United States.
I’m no expert. But here’s what seems to be a credible article about the author of the book referred to above. Here is more about the history of what might be what has come to be dubbed the Orion project of the CIA.
It is worth your time to learn more about this dangerous movement which thrives on misinformation and conspiracy theories and out and out deliberate lies.
[POSTNOTE JAN 21, 2021: Brookings Institution. “How to respond to the Qnon threat”]
Second, there’s “Christianity”, the faith I espouse which is a very ragged collection of denominations and leaders with a not always pristine history.
Some years ago, somehow, I got on the mailing list for a right wing group whose mission is to reform the Methodist Church in its own image – to purify its practices. It is apparently well-funded by someone(s) who think Methodism is too liberal.
The newsletter, “The Christian Methodist”, posited its Christian position, before the 2020 election, giving a so-called “Christian” perspective. I think the 4-page newsletter is well worth a read to get a perspective from a particular point of view. Note especially “Dr. James Dobson’s Concerns” on pp 2-4. I have actually been to Dobson’s Focus on the Family operation in rural Colorado Springs. It was about early 1990s, and about 100 of we visitors were given a talk on the evils of sex education in the schools, as I recall.
(I use “Christian” in quotations because there are endless “Christian” points of view, including my own, often in opposition to each other.
There are many people, like Dobson, and the editor of the newsletter, who declare in various ways their own supposedly superior positions on what being “Christian” means. And control the microphone and the printing press. Ultimately, this gets down more than the sanctity of belief, to the even greater lust for temporal power, in my opinion.)
There are very serious problems within the very ragged bunch who call themselves “Christian”, among whose numbers I count myself.
Trumps most reliable base is the evangelical Christians group. But all is not happy these days. David Brooks of the New York Times wrote a very interesting column on Jan 14: “Trump Ignites a War Within the Church”. You can read it here: Christians & Trump.
Yesterday, a friend called attention to an interview on National Public Radio of an evangelical leader, Ed Stetzer of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. You can listen to the 7 minutes here.
I only ask that regardless of your “brand” when it comes to the beliefs noted above, that you seriously think about the implications for al of us who live in this hopefully continuing great country. And that you not be silent.
COMMENTS:
from Jermitt: A very important message. I agree, it has been long in the making, even longer then the Author believes. Thanks for sharing.
from David: When I read anything about Q-anon, it just sounds so bat-shit crazy that I can’t get my head around how anyone could believe it. I mean, really, a cabal of Democratic pedophiles operating a child sex ring in the basement of a pizza parlor? We all believe, I guess, that what we know as the truth must be true. So, we look at the Q folks and say, how can they believe that insane stuff? They look at us and ask how we’re able to believe the things we believe. Both of us lay claim to “facts.”
It’s the Cruz and Hawley in leadership who know the truth yet still spout the lies are the ones who are sustaining the danger to our country. Trump will slither off to Florida. Biden becomes president facing strong headwinds. However, he does have the advantage of a bar set very low. His Covid/economic plans announced today truly offer hope for a better tomorrow. You wonder if even the most dedicated of the MAGA mob might find their fury slaked a bit if Biden manages to turn things around on the virus and create conditions for an economy that works for those left out in both rural and urban America. Heck, it’s hard to imagine him doing worse than Trump.
from long-time friend in London (first portion of this letter at Jan. 13 post): As for QAnon, conspiracy theories are spreading fast & can threaten entire societies. They aim to be attractive regardless of how difficult to believe & how obviously false. Who would not want to protect children from paedophiles? Thus QAnon is attractive especially to women. These theories have political agendas so QAnon for example points to Democrats as the perpetrators again with no attempt at supplying proof – as in the case of “Stop the Steal”.
When Buzz Aldrin was questioned by someone who didn’t believe men had landed on the moon, Aldrin who had himself landed on the moon punched him in the face. A bit of an extreme reaction for my taste but . . .
As in finance there is the supply side & the demand side. Shutting the supply of conspiracy theories (e.g. Trump’s Twitter account etc) can work but has the problem of going against free speech – Holocaust denial is punishable in Germany.
Taking the fight to the demand side which is extremely high at the moment due to various causes is important: children should be given lessons in scepticism & verification. Echo chambers should be challenged. Conditions that encourage the proliferation of conspiracy theories such as extreme inequality, poverty, people’s dignity being trampled, feelings of powerlessness & not having voices heard . . .
POST-NOTE Jan 15, 2021: Words seem irrelevant now, at least to a general audience. These words are written early Friday morning, Jan. 15, 2021. Inauguration Day for the President of the United States is January 20. Overnight came the most recent summary of what is happening in our country, and for those who actually read other than conspiracy theories, I encourage you to take the time to read, and actively reflect, on Suddenly America, here. America is better than this. Today, I’ll add some thoughts on impeachment at the end of this post as well.
Directly related posts Jan. 15 (two posts): “Q-anon, et al“, and Covid-19 vaccine; and Jan. 6 (the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol).
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Jan. 13, 2021: This afternoon the House of Representatives concluded the 2nd impeachment of Donald Trump. For the moment, this is simply a placeholder for later comments.
Impeachments of Presidents are a rare occurrence. Apparently Trump has half of the Presidential impeachments in U.S. history, and is the only President to be impeached more than once. (Nixon resigned before being impeached in 1974; Bill Clinton was impeached in 1999; Andrew Johnson in 1868.)
Here is an article about U.S. President impeachments. More information about the Jan.13, 2021, impeachment and followup will be added here from time to time. Check back.
Jan. 14, 2021: The first comment to this was posted overnight by John, below. “Count Him Out“, Just Above Sunset, was in my e-mail box when I awoke at 4:30 a.m.
Personally, I feel this impeachment was one of the most crucial and in the long run the most important decision in the history of our country. We can now begin to recover.
Somebody yesterday said that letting the President off with little more than good riddance, and moving towards reconciliation without other action like the impeachment would be tantamount to inviting the arsonist to help rebuild the house he had just burned down.
Heather Cox Richardson “Letters from an American Jan. 13 2021
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Brief Thoughts on Impeachment, Jan. 15, 2021.
To my knowledge there have been four Impeachments of a President of the United States. (Richard Nixon was never impeached: he resigned and then was pardoned by Gerald Ford.). That occurred in August, 1974, and I remember those days very well. A group of us at a leadership conference at the College of St. Benedict watched Nixon’s resignation speech on TV in the Commons area of the dormitory in which we were staying. As I recall, we were – all of us – a very sober group. Gerald Ford was vice-president because he’d replaced Spiro Agnew, who had resigned the previous year under less than honorable circumstances. Ford had been Speaker of the House of Representatives. Later I saw him in person in August of 1975, at the Marriott near what is now the Mall of America in Minneapolis. My 11-year old son, and possibly my 6-year old daughter, and a. couple of neighbor kids came along. Here’s my picture from that day, only a rope line between us (you can see the very top of my sons head). Three Secret Service men were around the President. Those were different times. Ford was a decent man, not of my party, but deserving of respect.
Gerald Ford Aug. 19, 1975, Bloomington MN.
The other Presidential Impeachments? I wasn’t around yet when Andrew Johnson was impeached in Feb. 1878. That story is easily accessed.
Bill Clinton was impeached in December, 1998, (perjury, about an affair) after a year of endless investigation which we all were subjected in most every days news. Sex sells…. As a citizen, I took my own position on this case, which you can read here, if you wish: Clinton Impeachment001. He wasn’t convicted.
Recently, inadvertently, I came across two contemporaneous archival notes about this case. The first was early this month when I decided to re-listen to a set of 4 CD’s of former President Jimmy Carter teaching Sunday school in Plains GA in Jan. 1998 (Carter taught hundreds of these classes which attracted people from everywhere.) In one of these tapes, he talked about going to Washington to meet with President Clinton about current national and world events; not directly spoken but obvious to everyone, was the Impeachment of his predecessor. Carter’s messages in those four Sunday mornings focused on St. Paul and reconciliation. You probably can purchase this set on-line. It is worth your time. Carter’s message should resonate today.
Carter was one of those who define the gold standard of U.S. Presidents for me.
Secondly, this week, literally, I decided to re-listen to another set of audio tapes, these from the 25th anniversary collection of Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion. On Jan. 9, 1999, he did his monologue on the childhood thrill of blowing up Cowpies in pastures, but the essence of the story was the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, just beginning in Washington.
I fairly often sat in the audience at live Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul and we were – dare I say? – “populists” of a different sort than are recognized today. We knew rural roots, we were Keillor’s base. This Cowpies story, now 22 years old, was about the impeachment without a specific direct word. Everybody in the audience knew exactly what he was talking about – the scandal had been milked by Clinton’s enemies for over a year. And the audience was with Keillor on the absurdity of it all. (The next month Clinton was found not guilty, and life went on, and he was more popular, even, than he had been before.)
Which brings us to Donald Trump. the first President in American History to be impeached twice, we are living within this story, as I speak.
Personally, I took a position as a citizen on the first Trump impeachment in early September, 2019. It was a brief letter, hand-delivered to the office of my Congressperson in St. Paul. Here is a later letter referring to the first: Trump Impeachment.
I would ask the reader to note only a couple of things:
First, I was not, and Congress did not, race into impeachment of Donald Trump. Some would say Congress waited too long, then. Not I. When I delivered that citizen letter to the Congresswoman’s office, the House of Representatives was nearing decision time; and the next few months will live on, and none of us best forget what happened.
The current impeachment is happening in real time, and we are deciding our own future as a civilized society. ur civil society is at risk. I hope for a good decision by all of us.
There is the old saying, “you reap what you sow”.
COMMENTS (more at end of post):
from long-time friend in London (more of this letter at Q-anon post Jan 15): I hope 2021 has started well for you & yours.
Lovely picture of president Ford with your son’s head!
I too think as you wrote president Carter “was one of those who define the gold standard of U.S. Presidents”. I remember him asking all to lower their thermostats in winter to save on fuel during that crisis & I thought he himself would be doing the same – & not slinking to some posh mansion (now we think of Mar-a-Lago or golf courses!).
from the Financial Times, UK
To be impeached once is serious but twice is unique – reminds me of the ever witty Oscar Wilde: “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” This is much worse than carelessness, although that is evident in much of Trump’s impromptu speeches as well, it is breaking the law & the constitution the president swore to uphold. The world expects no less from US democracy than upholding the law. The fact that some members of the House & the Senate are scared that extremists will do them harm is not an excuse: that is letting threats & terrorism win.
There is also the concern that there will be a much smarter & harder working populist president who will further damage institutions & democracy. Indeed his son, his daughter & his daughter in law are all thinking of running for political positions & they all hold similar views. Perhaps convicting him in the Senate will send them a message and encourage them to change direction and do something useful with their lives instead of spreading lies and conspiracy theories.
L.I.T. (that’s not “lazy incompetent Trump” & throw in the UK prime minister for good measure), but Law, Immigration & Trade, three pillars which have supported US prosperity and political health. Trump has sought to disrupt all three.
Congress should send a powerful message and not just a rap on the knuckles. (letter continues in Q-anon post 1-16)
from Steve, Jan. 15: His comments would fit with any of the recent posts about what is going on in our state and nation.
I continue to update the Jan. 6 post. Check in once in awhile.
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Last evening our neighbor, 91, called. He lives almost literally across the street. He lives alone, and he’d fallen twice and was in distress.
We went over. It resulted in a 911 call and an ambulance trip to the hospital where he spent at least an overnight. At this writing, I’m not sure of next steps. He has increasingly severe cognitive problems, and he’s afraid of losing his independence. But that issue will be forced at some point.
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About now, you’re saying, “so what else is new?” If you have family reasonably close by, you’ve experienced something akin to what I’ve just described.
As I told my wife, we’re on deck for the same experience ourselves. We’re older. Stuff happens.
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With all its messiness, humans tend towards empathy for each other. We care. And that’s where the infrastructure – society itself – comes in.
The 911 operator last night was very helpful; the ambulance arrived in appropriate time; the EMT persons were professional; as were the people at the hospital in St. Paul.
Of course, Covid-19 makes room visits impossible at this point in time.
My wife is arranging a visit with our friends brother, who’s in his mid-80s himself, and live a half hour from here, to begin arrangements for an in-person meeting to decide on next steps if will be needed sometime. Our friend has three other friends who in their own way will be involved in this as well.
Our society in general is inclusive. So far, kindness trumps selfishness; caring for each other is valued as much as caring for our own well-being.
There are many ragged edges, granted, including the one we are not living through.
But I can sit here less than 24 hours after a crisis across the street, and know that society is directly involved with caring for a neighbor who cannot at this moment care for himself.
Thank you.